BSC High: Senior Year
by Rachel D
Summary: The fourth and final book of the BSC High miniseries. No flames, please! COMPLETED!
1. Chapter 1: September, Stacey

_**BSC HIGH: Senior Year**_

A/N: Book Four in the miniseries. Just so you'll know, the stories in this miniseries contain things that I either have done, or would've liked to have done, when I was in high school.

_**CHAPTER 1: September—Stacey**_

__Wow. I can't believe I'm finally a senior in high school. Where did the time go? It seems like only yesterday I was starting kindergarten at Parker Academy in New York, and now, here I am. Wait, where are my manners? You don't know who I am, do you? Well, let me tell you.

My full name is Anastasia Elizabeth McGill, but everyone calls me Stacey. No one ever uses my full name unless they're really mad at me. Anastasia is also the name on my birth certificate and driver's license, and will be on my high school diploma and marriage certificate, should the occasion arise. Anyway, I'm seventeen years old, and like I was saying before, I'm starting my senior year of high school. I've been a member of the Baby-sitters Club (BSC) since seventh grade. I'm the treasurer, which means that I handle the money that comes in, namely the club dues. Even though it's the club's least favorite thing in the world, it has to be done.

I also have diabetes, and I have to do two important things: watch what I eat, and give myself insulin injections two or three times a day. You may think giving myself insulin sounds painful, but it's only as painful as brushing my teeth. If I don't do either of those things, I get really sick and end up in the hospital, which hasn't happened in a few years. I've been in the hospital several times, but hospital stays couldn't be avoided when I was first diagnosed in sixth grade. In fact, I missed so much school that year, I was almost held back.

When I was first diagnosed, the other kids at Parker avoided me like the plague, and it SUCKED. (I also don't mean to get off the subject here, but when the BSC members first met me, they thought I was anorexic or something, because I'd told them I was on a diet, and was always turning down sweets.) Thankfully, I don't have to put up with that here in Stoneybrook, Connecticut, where I currently reside with my mom. You see, my parents divorced when I was thirteen. Dad stayed in New York, because of his job, and Mom and I returned to Stoneybrook.

Confused? Let me explain. You see, the summer I was twelve, Dad's company transferred him to their Stamford office. Mom was also glad for the move, because ever since I was diagnosed with diabetes, she felt I needed a "peaceful little town." Anyway, we'd just settled in, and I'd joined the BSC, when Dad's company transferred him back to New York. We'd just moved back there when my parents started to fight a lot, mostly about money, me, things like that. A few months later, my parents announced that they were getting a divorce. The only decision I had to make was which parent to live with. I chose to live with Mom, but I see Dad every other weekend. In fact, Dad has already remarried, so I have a very nice stepmother named Samantha. When I returned to Stoneybrook, my friends were glad to have me back.

Kristy Thomas is the BSC president. Like me, she's seventeen and a senior at Stoneybrook High. Unlike me, however, she has a big family. You see, her dad walked out on them when Kristy was in first grade, but was killed in a plane crash about a year ago. Mrs. Thomas married Watson Brewer the summer before we started eighth grade, and that's how Kristy got her big family. Her two older brothers, Charlie, who's twenty-one, and Sam, who's nineteen and sort-of my boyfriend, attend NYU, where Charlie's a senior and Sam's a sophomore. In fact, I recently heard that Charlie just became engaged to Kathy Patrick, who used to be their regular baby-sitter before Kristy's mom and Watson got married. Back in those days, Kristy and her older brothers took turns watching Daivd Michael one afternoon a week after school, and Kathy did it the other two days, only to quit a few months later. Kristy's younger brother David Michael is eleven and in sixth grade at SMS.

Kristy also has two younger stepsiblings and an adopted sister. Her younger stepsister Karen is almost eleven and in sixth grade at Kelsey Middle School. Her younger stepbrother Andew is eight and in third grade, and her adopted sister Emily is six and in first grade. Both of them attend Stoneybrook Academy, a private school in Kristy's neighborhood.

Karen, Andrew, and David Michael are all members of a children's show choir called the Stoneybrook Kids. It's a group of kids between the ages of seven and eleven, and it was recently started by Mr. Drubek, who's a teacher at SMS, and Jason Everett, who happens to be Kristy's boyfriend/neighbor. This past summer, they were invited to compete in the international competition in Washington, DC, and they won a few awards.

Claudia Kishi is the vice-president of the BSC, as well as my best friend. She's also seventeen and a senior at SHS. The BSC meetings are held in her room, since she has her own phone and phone number. In fact, the money from the BSC treasury has a lot of functions: for example, paying Claud's phone bill, gas money for Kristy and Abby to get to meetings, the occasional pizza or slumber party, and stuff for our Kid-Kits, which are like toy boxes that we take on baby-sitting jobs. I really hate parting with the money, but that's just the way it is. Claud's a fabulous artist and the _wildest _dresser I've ever seen, even wilder than me. Claud lives with her parents and twenty-year-old sister Janine, who's a junior at U-Conn, and a pre-med major, since she's planning to become a doctor. Her grandmother, Mimi, used to live with them, too, but she died when Claud was thirteen. School, on the other hand, isn't one of her strong points. In fact, she had to repeat some of seventh grade, but thankfully, she was able to catch up.

Mary Anne Spier is the BSC secretary. She's almost seventeen, but will be a SHS senior. She's very organized, which she inherited from her dad, an asset that makes her a great secretary. Her stepmother, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. Sometimes when I'm at their house, Ill find a pair of scissors in the vegetable drawer or a shoe in the breadbox. Anyway, Mary Anne was only a baby when her mom died, and was thirteen when her dad remarried his high school sweetheart, who happens to be the mother of her best friend, Dawn Schafer.

Kristy, Claud, and Mary Anne have known each other practically their whole lives, since they all lived close together. Kristy and Mary Anne were neighbors, and Claud lived across the street from them. The triangle is now broken, since Kristy and Mary Anne have moved in with their new stepparents. Kristy and Mary Anne are also best friends, and they're as different as night and day. Kristy's a loudmouth who rarely cries, whereas Mary Anne's shy, and cries over the slightest little thing. At a recent sleepover, we watched _E.T., _and I thought I was going to have to put an umbrella over my head because she was crying so much.

Abby Stevenson is our alternate officer, which means that she takes over if someone has to miss a meeting. She's also almost seventeen, but will be a senior at SHS. She has a twin sister named Anna, and they were only nine when their father was killed in a car accident. We actually invited both twins to join, but Anna declined, because she's a dedicated musician and wanted to spend more time on her music. Anyway, the Stevensons are Jewish and we got to attend the twins' Bat Mitzvah, which is a ceremony to welcome a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl into the adult Jewish community. They're also from Long Island, and moved to Stoneybrook when the twins were in eighth grade. Abby has such a sense of humor, and it never fails to rub off onto you.

Mallory Pike and Jessica Ramsey are fifteen and SHS sophomores. They're both the oldest in their families, but that's pretty much it. There are some big differences, though. For example, Jessi's black and Mal's white. That didn't bother us BSC members at all (I mean, Claud's Asian, so why should it?), but it seems that Jessi's neighborhood, which my old neighborhood from when we'd lived in Stoneybrook the first time, wasn't exactly thrilled to have them there. Things have calmed down now that they've gotten to know the Ramseys. Jessi loves ballet, and Mal loves writing stories. In fact, I've seen Jessi dance, and she's really talented.

Jessi comes from an average-sized family with two siblings: Becca (short for Rebecca), who's twelve, a Stoneybrook Kids alumni, and in seventh grade at SMS, and JJ (short for John Junior, and whatever you do, _don't _call him Squirt), who's five and in the morning kindergarten at Stoneybrook Elementary, and her Aunt Cecelia, who moved in to help when Mrs. Ramsey got a job, but now that JJ's in school, I don't know what the plan is.

Mallory, on the other hand, comes from a big family with seven siblings, three of which are triplets. The triplets, Adam, Byron, and Jordan, are fourteen and freshmen at SHS. Vanessa's thirteen, an honorary BSC member, and in eighth grade; Nick's twelve, a Stoneybrook Kids alumnus, and in seventh grade; Margo's eleven and in sixth grade. They attend SMS. Then there's Claire, who's nine, a Stoneybrook Kids member, and in fourth grade at SES. I can only imagine how those poor teachers must feel about teaching yet another Pike!

We also have several honorary and associate members that we can call on when we're in a bind: Logan Bruno, who happens to be Mary Anne's boyfriend; Shannon Kilbourne, who lives across the street from Kristy, and is the only BSC member to go to a private school; Jason and Bebe Everett, who are not only stepsiblings, but they're also the only ones not born in this country. Jason used to be Claudia's boyfriend, but they broke up last winter, and now he's Kristy's boyfriend. There's also Vanessa Pike (Mallory's sister, remember?); Haley Braddock, Vanessa's best friend; and Charlotte Johanssen, who calls me an "almost-sister". In fact, Charlotte's mom, Dr. Johanssen, helped me through some rough patches with my diabetes. Logan and Jason, like us older ones, are seniors at SHS; Shannon is in twelfth grade at Stoneybrook Day School; Bebe's a freshman at SHS; and Charlotte and Haley, like Vanessa, are not only three of our former baby-sitting charges, but they're also eighth graders and cheerleaders at SMS.

Jason is the oldest of us, in terms of age. He's eighteen, and was born in Scotland. He and his mom came to America when he was four. And for some reason, his accent never went away completely. He sounds like the present-day Ewan McGregor, who happens to be one of Mary Anne's favorite actors. I should also mention that Karen and Andrew just idolize him, and love having him baby-sit when they're at their mom's house.

Bebe was born in Toronto, Canada, and came to America with her dad when she was a baby. She also has an accent, but it's much more subtle than Jason's.

Anyway, back to me. I picked Claudia up, and we headed to school. As we left Bradford Court, "Good Morning, Starshine" from _Hair _came on the radio, and we started to giggle.

"Is this song reminding you of anything, Stacey?" Claud asked.

"I'll say," I agreed. You see, Kristy, Jessi, and Jason had been three of the chaperones when the Stoneybrook Kids went to Washington. When they got back, they told us all about their adventures. According to them, Jason hadn't felt well on the day that they'd left for Washington, and it later turned out that he needed his appendix out. Kristy also said that Bebe had told everyone that when Jason woke up from surgery, that's what he was singing.

When we pulled into the parking lot at school, we saw Jason, Bebe, Kristy, and Mary Anne getting out of Jason's truck. Jason and Bebe headed toward the entrance of the school. My friends and I stood there for a moment, just taking it all in. Our status in the school, that is.

"Well, here we are again," Mary Anne said at last.

"Yeah, but this time we're seniors. Hallelujah!" Claud said.

"And we're going to rule the school," I said.

"Okay, Rizzo," Kristy giggled.

"Well, aren't you glad that it's finally senior year?" I asked.

"Well, yeah, aren't we all?" Mary Anne asked.

The first thing we did was go to the office for our schedules. When I got mine, here's what I saw:

**1****st**** period-Algebra**

** 2****nd**** period-English**

** 3****rd**** period-P.E.**

** 4****th**** period-Home Ec.**

** 5****th**** period-lunch **(We get to leave campus! Yea!)

**6****th**** period-study hall**

** 7****th**** period-Democracy**

** 8****th**** period-science**

"Okay, girls," I said as we left the office. "Let's go get 'em."

After we left the office, we went our separate ways to homeroom. Our last year of school was officially underway.


	2. Chapter 2: October, Kristy

_**CHAPTER 2: October—Kristy**_

__It was the last Friday in October. I came home from the BSC meeting, and found Mom in the kitchen, fixing dinner. "Hi, Mom," I said.

"Hi, Kristy," she answered. "How was the meeting?"

"Great," I answered. "We just inducted a few people as honorary members."

"Who?"

"The Arnold twins, Becca Ramsey, Nick Pike, Jake Kuhn, and James Hobart."

"That's wonderful. Don't forget that Sam and Charlie are coming home for the weekend."

"I know. Do you know what time they'll be here?"

"It should be any minute now," she answered.

"Hi, anyone home?" a voice called from the front hall. Mom and I went there, and found Sam and Charlie.

"Hi, Sam. Hi, Charlie," Mom said, giving each of them a hug.

"What's new with you?" Sam asked.

"Well, the Civic Center just held auditions for _Gypsy," _I said. "Karen, Andrew, David Michael, Mom, Jason, Bebe, Logan, Shannon, and I all auditioned, and hopefully, we're all in it."

"Good," Sam said.

It was nice to have my brothers home for the weekend.

The next morning, I saw Sam in the kitchen, fixing his breakfast. "Hi, Sam," I said as I went to make some coffee. Luckily, Nannie had taught me to do that before she moved out, or else I'd be sunk.

"'Morning, Sis," he answered. "Is there any marmalade?"

"It's in the pantry," I told him. "I'd be careful if I were you, though. Watson just set out a rat trap."

"Right," he answered, then went into the pantry. The next thing I knew, he started screaming, in a Russian accent, "Is giant rats everywhere! Run! Get out of the house!"

"What the...?" I asked. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's rats. In fact, that's something else that Mary Anne and I have in common. You see, two summers ago, Mary Anne, Abby, and I had been counselors at Camp Mohawk. Mal and Jessi had been CITs, and Karen, Andrew, David Michael, four of the other Pikes, the Braddocks, the Rodowskys, Hannie Papadakis, and Nancy Dawes had been campers. Oh, and Mary Anne and I had been CITs two years before that. Anyway, one day in the showers, right next to the soap dish, I saw a dead rat! Mary Anne passed out on the spot, but I ran out of there screaming bloody murder. That wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that I'd left my clothes in there, and as luck would have it, I ran headfirst into the wall. On the upside, I wasn't running in place while I was screaming, nor had I gotten shampoo in my eyes. (Okay, get it out of your system: _"See, Mom? I to-old yo-o-ou, Ennis poured water on the baby, the shampoo run into her eyes, and she may be blinded for li-i-ife!")_

I also remembered the first time that Claud, Mary Anne, Dawn, and I had visited Stacey in New York. I didn't mind it one bit, even though I couldn't pronounce "filet mignon" to save my life, but Dawn was practically a basket case the whole time we were there. In fact, one day, she saw a mouse and thought it was a rat, and also believed that there were alligators in the sewers. I'm told that Mary Anne was constantly giving her grief about it until Dawn moved back to California for good.

Anyway, as soon as I heard Sam screaming, I ran to the pantry to find him standing there, just laughing hysterically. "I was making joke!" he howled, still using the accent.

I smacked him with the dish towel. "That's not funny," I told him.

"That's the whole point," he said.

Some things never change.


	3. Chapter 3: November, Jason

_**CHAPTER 3: November—Jason**_

__It was the day before Thanksgiving. As soon as Bebe and I got home from school, we loaded our suitcases into the SUV. (My truck only holds two or three comfortably, four in a pinch, so it worked out better this way.) We were spending the holiday with Uncle Aaron, Aunt Amy, and their girls, Alex, who's Bebe's age, and Alissa, who's almost ten. I hadn't seen them since the summer after my SMS graduation.

When we got out of the SUV at their brownstone, Aunt Amy and the girls were waiting for us on the porch. "Hi, Sis," Mum said.

"Hi," my aunt answered.

"Hi, Jason! Hi, Bebe!" Alissa called as she ran up and threw her arms around my waist, like she'd done when she was little. Luckily, unlike Karen Brewer, she's not strong enough to knock the wind out of me.

"Hi," Bebe said.

"How are you, Jason?" Alex asked.

"I'm fine," I told her.

"Did you like the _Inherit the Wind _video?" Mum asked.

"Aye," my aunt answered. "I really loved your Southern accent, Jason. You sounded just like Clark Gable."

"Thanks," I said, giving her a hug. In the back of my mind, I thought, _If I never have to do a Southern accent again, I'll be so happy._

Just then, Uncle Aaron came out of the house. "Hi," he said, giving each of us a hug. "How have you been?"

"We've been pretty good," Steve answered. "Oh, Jason had his appendix out over the summer."

"You should've been there when Jason woke up from surgery," Bebe told my cousins. "He started singing 'Good Morning, Starshine'." The three girls got a good laugh, as did the adults. I couldn't help joining in.

"How are you feeling now, Jason?" Aunt Amy asked as soon as we'd calmed down.

"Oh, much better," I answsered. "I'm just glad the pain's gone."

"Good," she said.

"Oh," Alex remembered. "You remember Doug Mahoney?"

I nodded. You see, Doug was this kid who had a lot of problems. His mum was only sixteen when he was born, and his real father abandoned her when he found out that she was pregnant. They were kicked out of his grandparents' house when he was two, and moved into a homeless shelter. His mum started dating one of the kitchen employees, and they moved in together. A few years later, his mum's boyfriend started abusing him, both physically and sexually. The way he dealt with that was by getting into trouble for petty crimes. According to my cousins, he took Alissa's hair barrette on the playground, and when I was last there, he'd vandalized their home, namely their Bratz doll collection. He eventually confessed, then went on to juvenile hall. I've wondered about him since then.

"He's on leave from military school," Alex told me. "He's been doing really well, and staying out of trouble."

At that moment, we heard a motor scooter coming up the street. It parked beside the curb, and the driver got off and removed his helmet. "Hi, Doug," Alex said.

"Hi," he answered. He sure didn't look the same way he did when he was nine. Not only was he taller and more muscular, but his voice slightly deeper, and he had black streaks in his hair, as well a little gold erring in his left ear. "Hey, Jason!" he exclaimed when he saw me. I was a little surprised that he was able to recognize me, since I'd gotten my hair cut last spring.

"Hi," I said as he ran up and gave me a hug. "How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been doing all right," he answered. "School's been really good to me, and I've been learning a lot about firearms, hand-to-hand combat, and lifesaving techniques."

"Really? That's great!" I said. "So, have you been staying out of trouble?"

Doug grinned and nodded. "Oh, and you won't believe this," he said. "My mom's getting married this summer!"

"That's wonderful," Mum said. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"His name's Derek Adams, and he's a second corporal in the Air Force," Doug said. When he said that, I thought of my real father, who had been killed in Iraq before I was born. He'd also been that rank, but he was in the Scottish Army. Mum had given me his ID tags for my eighth birthday, and I still have them.

"So, how do you like him?" I asked.

"Oh, he's a great guy," Doug told me. "I think I'm going to like having him in our family. I was so proud of Doug. He'd come such a long way since then, and I really hoped he'd stick with it.


	4. Chapter 4: December, Mary Anne

_**CHAPTER 4: December—Mary Anne**_

__It was a week before Christmas. Kristy, Claud, Stacey, Abby, Logan, Jason, Jessi, Mal, Bebe, and I were at the Stamford Lanes bowling alley. Normally, I'm not the most athletic person in the world, but recently, I decided to give bowling a try. And no, playing it on the Kormans' Nintendo Wii doesn't even count. Kristy, Bebe, the guys, and I were in one lane, and the others were in one beside us.

After everyone had taken a turn, I turned to Kristy. "I'm going to the snack bar," I said. "Can I get you anything?"

"Sure," she said. "Do the rest of you want anything?" After everyone had placed their orders, Kristy and I set off for the snack bar.

"Have you thought about the future of the BSC?" I asked Kristy as we stepped to the back of the short line at the snack bar.

Kristy nodded. "You know, Mary Anne, over the summer, I was thinking that in March, we could induct the next generation of officers, but they officially start after the first of July. In fact, I've already talked to Karen, and she's agreed to take over when I go to college next fall."

"I remember having the Baby-sitters Training," I said. "Is that why we did it?"

"Yeah."

"That's a great idea," I said. At that moment, we stepped up to the counter and placed our orders: hamburgers for Stacey and Jessi; nachos for Claud, Abby, Mal, and me; and french fries for Kristy, Bebe, and the guys. We also ordered a Diet Pepsi for Stacey; Pepsi for Kristy, Claud, Jessi, the two guys, and me; and Sprite for Abby, Mal, and Bebe.

While we waited for the food, the two guys happened to join us at the counter. "We thought you might need some help carrying the food back," Logan said. As the drinks appeared on the counter, and I marked which was the Diet Coke, we paid the cashier, then the guys started carrying the drinks back to our table. After they carried the last of the drinks over, they came back for the food.

"Thanks," I said as the guy behind the counter handed me my change. By then, the guys were returning. Logan grabbed the burgers and an order of nachos; Jason grabbed two orders of fries; I grabbed two orders of nachos; and Kristy grabbed what was left, which was the remaining order of nachos and two orders of fries. Her hands were so full, I hoped she wouldn't drop anything on the way over.

"Here we go," I said to my friends as I set the food down.

"Thanks," Stacey said.

After we finished eating, we threw our trash away and returned to our game. Logan got a spare and I got a strike. Well, you know what they say about beginner's luck, right? Amidst the surprised gasps and congratulations, I noticed that Mal was awfully quiet. "Mal?" I asked. "Are you all right?'

"Huh? Oh, yeah," she said. "Um, is there someplace we can talk privately?"

"Sure," I said. Right away, I knew I wasn't going to like what Mal had to say. I followed her to the ladies' room, where we checked under the stalls to make sure that no one would be eavesdropping. After we decided it was safe, Mal turned to face me. "What is it?"

"Well," she began. "I didn't know who else to tell this to, but last night, Jordan told me that he wanted to talk to me about something."

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Well, that's just it. I don't really know," she answered. "I know its' not right to judge people because they're different, but I..." Mal took a deep breath before blurting out, "I think Jordan's gay."

As soon as those words came out of Mal's mouth, I just stood there, dumbfounded, then after a minute, I managed to ask, very softly, "Are you sure about this?"

Mal nodded. "I'm pretty sure, Mary Anne," she whispered as a tear slid down her face. "I should've had it figured out a long time ago. Do you remember last summer when Dawn and Jeff came to Stoneybrook for a visit?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, the whole time they were here, I saw Jordan looking at Jeff kind of, um, lovingly," Mal told me. I could tell that she was fighting the sobs that were coming. "And the night before they returned to California, I overheard Jeff telling Jordan that he was straight, and not to worry about him telling anyone how he'd been acting."

"Wow," I murmured. "How did he take it?"

"I think he took it pretty well," Mal said. "I'm still so worried about him, though. I've heard some pretty horrible stories about how gay people are treated, and I couldn't stand it if anything happened to him."

"Do your parents know?"

Mal shook her head. "The worst part is, Adam and Byron hardly ever speak to him anymore," she went on. "I'm just glad my other siblings don't ignore him completely, but Jordan feels terrible, like this whole thing is his fault. I've tried talking to him, and you should've heard me telling Adam and Byron off. What'll I do, Mary Anne?" And that's when she really started crying. I don't think I've heard anyone cry this much since Mimi's funeral.

"Oh, come here, honey," I said soothingly, wrapping Mal in a hug. I was also crying by now, and not just for Mal, but also for some of my other gay friends. The thought of what they must have endured, and what was yet to come, was unbearable.

After Mal and I finished crying, we returned to the others, finished our game, and left the alley. I was not only looking forward to Christmas and Dawn's visit, but I also said a prayer for the Pikes. _Please don't let them treat Jordan too horribly, _I thought.

A few days later, Dad, Sharon, and I arrived at the Hartford Airport. We were picking up Dawn and Jeff, and taking them back on the 28th.

When we got to the airport, Dad said, "You go on. I'll have a surprise for you in a little bit." I wondered what he was talking about.

About an hour later, just twenty minutes before Dawn and Jeff's plane was due to land, Dad joined us outside the security area. Grandma Baker was right behind him. "Grandma!" I exclaimed as I hugged her.

"Surprise!" she said.

"How long are you staying?"

"A week."

"Listen," Dad said. "I'm going to take Verna to get her luggage, and we'll meet you outside, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed. With that, Dad and Grandma walked off.

A little while later, Dawn and Jeff's plane came in, and within minutes, they had joined us. There was yet another round of hugs.

It was the best Christmas anyone could ask for.


	5. Chapter 5: January, Logan

_**CHAPTER 5: January—Logan**_

__It was January 10th, which was not only a Sunday, but also my eighteenth birthday. I woke up at 8:15, and went to the kitchen, where I found Mom and Kerry. Kerry was sitting at the table, and Mom was cooking.

"Good morning," Mom said.

"'Morning," I yawned as I took a seat across from Kerry.

"Happy birthday," Kerry said.

"Would you like something special for breakfast, birthday man?" Mom asked.

"You know, your grits have always been my favorite," I said, pouring myself a glass of apple juice. Mom once told me that when she was pregnant with me, she couldn't keep orange juice down, and that's probably why I've never liked it.

"Okay, one serving of Mom Bruno's grits coming right up," Mom said. Kerry and I got a good laugh. Just then, Dad and Hunter joined us at the breakfast table.

"Happy birthday, Logan," Hunter said, only with his allergies, it sounded more like, "Happy birthday, Logad."

"Thanks," I answered.

I just knew today was going to be a great day.

Later that day, I baby-sat for the two youngest Hobart boys, ten-year-old Mathew and eight-year-old Johnny. In fact, I still remember when Johnny got lost at the health fair a few years ago, and King, of all people, happened to be the one to find him. To this day, I don't know which was worse: not knowing where Johnny was, or having King and his buddies rub it in my face. On the upside, they weren't humming the _People's Court _theme and saying, "This is defendant, Logan Bruno..."

"Hi, you guys," I said when I entered the house.

"Hi, Logan," Mathew answered.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Johnny said. "You could take us out to Pizza Express."

"If that's all right with your parents," I said.

"Sure," Mrs. Hobart answered. "We'll only be gone for a couple of hours. We've got some errands to run. Oh, in case you're wondering, Ben and James are at the Pikes. Ben is studying with Mallory, and James is hanging out with Nick. If they get home by the time you get back from Pizza Express, Ben can be your helper."

"Okay," I answered. "See you later."

"'Bye, boys," Mrs. Hobart said. "Be good for Logan."

"'Bye, Mum. We will," Mathew answered.

"See you later," Johnny added.

As soon as the Hobarts pulled out of the driveway and turned the corner, I handed Johnny's shoes to him, and handed both boys their coats. We got in my car, and were soon on our way.

When we got to Pizza Express, I was greeted with a really big surprise. There was a big yellow banner hanging from the wall next to the pinball machine that said, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOGAN!" in big red letters.

On the table was a pepperoni with two of those number candles, a 1 and an 8. Standing behind the table were Pete Black, Mary Anne, the other BSC members, and some of their siblings. Standing beside the table were the Rodowsky boys, the Braddocks, the Arnold twins, the Prezzioso and Perkins girls, the Newtons, the Papakises, Charlotte Johanssen, and the Ramseys. In fact, if you looked up "Kodak moment" in the dictionary, you definitely would've seen the look on my face, and that would've been right next to the picture of the _Carnival _cast party we'd had at Burger King.

"Happy eighteenth, Bruno!" Pete grinned, giving me a bear-hug. I hope he doesn't mind me saying this, but I thought for sure that he was going to either break me in half or break my ribs. I don't think this guy even knows his own strength!

After Pete let go of me, the younger kids too turns hugging me and wishing me a happy birthday. I don't think any of them know their own strength, either. Let's just say that for the first time in my life, I knew exactly how Tevye felt in that one scene from _Fiddler on the Roof. _I also understood what Jason meant when he told me about how Kristy's little stepsiblings always knocked the wind out of him.

"Happy birthday, honey," Mary Anne said tenderly, kissing me on the lips. That's when I noticed that, for once, she wasn't crying.

"So, they finally turned off the plumbing, huh?" I teased. Mary Anne got a good laugh.

After they finished singing "Happy Birthday", Abby, being the comedienne that she is, couldn't resist saying, "Shall we?" She does a pretty good impression of Frank N. Furter, by the way. Amidst the laughter, I blew out the candles on the pizza, very carefully removed them, without getting candle wax on my fingers, miraculously enough, and helped Kristy serve up the slices.

"In a way, I'm kind of glad Dawn isn't here," Kristy whispered to me as she served Mathew his pizza. "I know exactly what she'd be saying: 'Don't you realize how much cholesterol there is in that? If you're trying to give yourself a coronary before you turn twenty-one, mission accomplished. And don't come crying to me if you need to see a cardiologist'."

"Yup, that's Dawn for you," I laughed.

All in all, a great party.

After we left Pizza Express, we returned to the Hobarts'. Just as we pulled in, I saw Ben and James coming up the street. "Hi," I called to them as I got out of the car.

"Hi, Logan," Ben answered. "What have you been up to?"

"Well, today's my eighteenth birthday," I told them.

"Happy birthday," James said.

"Thanks. Anyway, I was at a dance rehearsal for _Gypsy _this afternoon, then I came here afterward."

"Oh, okay," James said. "How soon does _Gypsy _open?"

"About seven weeks," I answered.

"We'll try to come see it," Ben promised.

"Thanks," I said. Then I changed the subject. "Well, it's kind of cold, so I suggest we go inside."

"Okay," Ben said. The five of us went inside, and played Life until the Hobarts came home.

Today was definitely a day I'd never forget.


	6. Chapter 6:February, Claudia

_**CHAPTER 6: February—Claudia**_

__It was the first week of February. My friend, Ashley, and I were going to be the set designers for both plays. I would design the set for the senior class play, _Titanic: Tragedy and Trial, _and Ashley would design the set for the all-school play, _The Pink Panther Strikes Again._

Some of my friends were going to be really busy for a while, namely Kristy, Logan, and Jason. Not only did they audition for _Titanic _(Stacey and Abby also auditioned, and the cast list was going to be posted today), but they were also involved with _Gypsy _at the Civic Center at the end of the month.

At lunch time on Friday afternoon, Stacey, Abby, and I got into Abby's white Pacifica and went to McDonald's for lunch. All of the seniors are allowed to leave campus during lunch.

We got to McDonald's and placed our orders: a McRib (or, as Mom once called it, a "McMess") with fries and a Coke for me, a hamburger with apple dippers and a Diet Coke for Stacey, and a Fruit and Walnut Salad with a bottle of water for Abby. "How's everything going?" I asked as I set my tray down.

"Pretty good," Stacey answered, unwrapping her burger. "In fact, I heard that the cast list was going to be posted sometime this afternoon."

"Good," I said. "I hope you get a part."

"Thanks, Claud," Stacey said.

As soon as we finished eating, we threw our trash away, got back in our car, and returned to school.

At our Monday meeting, after Stacey had collected dues, Kristy said, "Well, guys, I have an announcement."

"What is it?" I asked.

"What is it?" Kristy said.

"What is it?" I repeated.

"What is it?" Kristy echoed.

"WHAT IS IT?" Abby shouted. We all got a good laugh, remembering that we'd seen _Fiddler on the Roof _at our sleepover at Kristy's last month. Some of us had even seen the stage production in Stamford when we were in eighth grade.

"Well," Kristy began, "a few weeks ago at the bowling alley, while Mary Anne and I were waiting for our food, I told her that I was planning to have Karen take over the BSC when I go to college in the fall."

"That's great," Abby said. "Any ideas where you're going?"

"Ohio University in Athens," Kristy answered as she opened the can of Honey Roasted peanuts I'd offered her. "I'm planning to teach elementary school gym."

"Great," Mal said as she took the can from Kristy.

"Of course, I'm told that I can't take my car my freshman year, but Mom and Watson said they'd be glad to pay airfare or bus fare on weekends I want to come home."

"That's nice," Mal said as she took a handful of peanuts. "How about you, Claud?"

"Chicago," I answered as I leaned over Mal and took the can for myself. "I'm going to teach high school art."

"Chicago!" Jessi exclaimed. "That's a whole 'nother time zone!"

"I know," I said as I took a handful of peanuts, then passed the can over Stacey and to Mary Anne. "It may be well worth it, though."

"I'm going to NYU," Mary Anne said as she took a handful of peanuts, then held the can for Kristy. Then she closed the can and hid it under the bed. "I'm going to be a middle school guidance counselor."

"Speaking of guidance counselors, did you hear that Mrs. Evanson was killed in a car accident over the weekend?" I asked. The others nodded. "I even heard that at graduation, the seniors will be carrying white roses to honor her memory."

"That's nice of you guys," Mal said.

"Anyway," Stacey said after a moment. "I'm going to NYU as well, to be a nurse's aide."

"Me, too, but I want to be an advertising executive, but I'm planning to return to Stoneybrook to settle," Abby said.

"That's good," Mary Anne said as she reached into my sandal and got out an Airhead. "I also got an e-mail from Dawn. She said that she and Sunny have applied at New Mexico State." Mary Anne finished off the Airhead and threw the wrapper away. "Then they'll settle in Zuni after graduation."

"Good," Abby said. "Oh, remember when we took that RV trip? Zuni ended up being one of the stops on the southbound RV route. It was a nice place to visit, and we even got to see the school."

"Yeah, I remember you telling me about that," I said. "On the upside, you weren't stranded out in the middle of the Badlands without gasoline."

"Yeah," Abby agreed. "Anyway, back to Mrs. Evanson. What do you think of the substitute, Mr. Kirk? Isn't he handsome?" The rest of us nodded in agreement.

"Aaanywaaay..." we all said, then erupted into giggles.

"Remember when we had that sleepover for the kids who were involved in that pen-pal program?" Mal asked, reaching under my mattress, pulling out a Twinkie, and unwrapping it. In case you're wondering, Stoneybrook Elementary and Zuni Elementary are involved in a pen pal program called Pens Across America, which is for students in second through fifth grades. Several of our baby-sitting chargers are involved in that, and they love sharing their pen pals' news with us.

"Oh, our finest moment," Kristy sighed. "Let's see...we had homesickness, bathroom visits at all hours of the night, kids having accidents or throwing up, sleepwalking, nightmares, and basically anything that can go wrong under one roof. And I'm not talking about my house, or Mal's."

"Well, I should hope not!" I laughed as I took the Twinkie wrapper from Mal and threw it in the trash can. Mal nodded in agreement.

"Don't forget about the kids selling their parents' stuff without permission," Mary Anne said. You see, the school in Zuni had burned down, and Dawn had organized a fundraiser to help raise money to send to Zuni, along with the necessary items, such as food and clothes, to help them build a new school, and the kids had somehow managed to donate their parents' stuff. It eventually got to the point where Dawn had to make out permission slips to send home to the parents so she'd know what they were authorizing to send.

"Oh, don't remind me," Kristy groaned. "I can still see the look on Watson's face when he found out that David Michael was trying to sell his copy of _Crime & Punishment."_

_ "Oy," _Abby said. "He was pretty pissed, huh?"

"I'll say," Kristy agreed. "Eat your heart out, Bobby Knight."

At this, Abby stood up, knocked my desk chair over, and shouted, "'DAMMIT, THAT WASN'T TRAVELING!' 'Coach Knight, it's okay.' 'IT'S NOT OKAY! IT'S A BASKETBALL GAME! IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN F- LIFE OR DEATH! I'M BOBBY KNIGHT! YOU MISSED IT! THAT WAS A SIMPLE ALLEY-OOP! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU 19-YEAR-OLD WALK-ON!"

We practically killed ourselves laughing as Abby set my desk chair upright again. In fact, Jessi accidentally spit a half-chewed peanut butter M & M across the room.

I was really going to miss my friends when we went our separate ways after graduation, but at the same time, I was really looking forward to college.


	7. Chapter 7: March, Abby

_**CHAPTER 7: March—Abby**_

__It was the last week of March. In just two weeks, I would be seeing the all-school play, _The Pink Panther Strikes Again, _and the weekend after that, I would be playing Ida Strauss in the senior class play, _Titanic: Tragedy and Trial._

I'd seen _Gypsy _at the Civic Center a couple of weeks ago, which had been their final performance. I thought everyone had done a great job, and we even got to see the video at the wrap party, which was at Kristy's house. She'd been allowed to invite us, and we had a sleepover that night. "Have you gotten the DVD yet?" I asked Kristy at our Monday meeting.

"I hope so," Mary Anne said. "It was a great live performance, but the video should be even better."

"Thanks," Kristy said, then she changed the subject. "Oh, I called Karen at her mom's last night, and asked her and her friends, including Natalie, to come to Wednesday's meeting."

"I'll remind Vanessa," Mal said.

"Thanks," Kristy said.

"Are we going to induct them?" Claud asked.

"I'll more than likely inaugurate them into the offices they'll hold when we go to college in the fall," Kristy answered.

"Oh, I see," Claud said.

I couldn't wait until the next meeting.

The following Wednesday, I saw Vanessa and Karen, as well as Karen's friends, going up the sidewalk to Claudia's house. "You guys nervous?" I asked.

Karen shook her head. "In fact, Kristy called me last night, and told me what to expect."

"Good deal," I said.

I opened the door for them, and led them up the stairs to Claudia's room, where we found places to sit. Before the meeting actually started, I saw Kristy going around to Nancy, Hannie, Vanessa, and Natalie, whispering something in their ear, and they answered. I had no idea what was going on.

The meeting started at 5:30 on the dot. Kristy picked up the BSC notebook and said, "It's time for the meeting to begin."

The ceremony went like this. While holding the BSC notebook, Kristy asked each individual girl (Karen, Nancy, Hannie, Vanessa, and Natalie) to stand on her right, place her left hand on the notebook, and repeat the following oath: "I, Karen Marie Brewer/Nancy Jane Dawes/Hannah Louise Papadakis/Vanessa Jo Pike/Natalie Lynn Springer, do solemnly swear to uphold the office of Baby-sitters Club president/vice-president/secretary/treasurer/alter nate officer, until such time that I need to pass the torch on to someone else."

Each girl repeated the oath, and us BSC members were struggling like hell to keep straight faces. Kristy was using a shortened version of the Presidential oath. On the upside, she didn't make the mistake of saying, "I, state your name", because we all know what would've happened next, and guess who would've been the only one to actually find that funny? I know, I've seen _Blazing Saddles _too many times, right?

After Natalie sat down, having had her turn to be sworn in, Kristy turned to face the girls and said, "Now, you understand that your offices won't take effect until after the first of July, right?"

Vanessa nodded. "We won't let you guys down," she said.

"I know," Kristy said solemnly. "And don't forget what you learned when you took that baby-sitters' training at the Y."

"We'll remember," Karen promised. "And I, for one, learned not to get myself so excited that I pass out. I still can't believe I didn't hit that high note from _The Fantasticks."_

Upon hearing that, I turned to everyone else and said, "Okay, all together..."

_"WATER!" _we all sang. As luck would have it, that's when it started raining.

"Damn, it really _does _work!" Jessi exclaimed.

Anyway, I was proud of those girls, and I knew the BSC would be in good hands with them in charge.


	8. Chapter 8: April, Stacey

_**CHAPTER 8: April—Stacey**_

__I arrived at school on the first day back after spring break. The all-school play, _The Pink Panther Strikes Again, _would be coming up that weekend, and the senior class play, _Titanic: Tragedy and Trial, _would be the weekend after that.

I was at my locker, putting away my jacket, and getting out my books, when I saw Claudia. "Hi, Claud," I said.

"Hi, Stacey," she answered. "Have a nice Easter?"

"Yeah, but I don't have time to talk about it now," I said. "I have to get to class."

"See you later, Stacey," Claud said.

After homeroom, I had first period Algebra and second period English with none of my BSC friends. I had third period gym with Kristy, Claud, and Mary Anne. I had fourth period Home Ec. with none of my BSC friends.

After fourth period, I put my books in my locker, and met Claud and Abby in the parking lot. We got into Claud's black Corvette, and went to McDonald's for lunch. Like I said before, all of the seniors are allowed to leave campus during lunch. Even though her parents have somewhat high-paying jobs, they were able to pool their salaries together, and give Claud the car for Christmas when she was sixteen.

"Have a good first day back?" Abby asked as we pulled out onto the street.

"Yeah," I answered.

When we arrived at McDonald's, we placed our orders, which wasn't really necessary, since we always go there for lunch, and the employees automatically know what we want to eat (scary, isn't it?). As soon as we got our food and sat down, I said, "You know, it's a good thing we get to leave campus during lunch."

Abby giggled. "Stacey, you're starting to sound like Kristy!" she said, opening her package of walnuts and putting them on her salad.

"Yeah," Claud agreed, taking a sip of her Coke. "On the upside, Stacey never made any disgusting comments about the school lunch."

The three of us got a good laugh, finished our lunch, threw our trash away, got back in the car, and returned to school.

That afternoon, I had sixth period study hall with none of my BSC friends; seventh period Democracy with Claud, Mary Anne, Logan, and Jason; and eighth period science with Mary Anne, Logan, and Jason.

After school, I had a _Titanic _rehearsal. Since the all-school play was rehearsing in the auditorium, we had to rehearse in the gym, but would move to the auditorium during tech week, and make any blocking adjustments. Anyway, nothing unusual happened, other than Alan Gray (who's playing Frederick Fleet) and Pete Black (who's playing Reginald Lee) making seagull sound effects at the end of Act One. I'd never heard them do that before, and I thought I was going to get a stomachache from trying not to laugh.

"I love ocean life," Alan whispered in a French accent as Pete continued whistling. "Everywhere I go, I hear zose damn birds."

If that wasn't funny enough, Abby leaned over to me and whispered, "Rose, you must promise me that n-no matter w-what you'll s-s-survive, and there's a bunch of stuff I c-can't remember, 'cause the c-cold is s-seeping into my brain, and now I'm lost and r-rambling, and I j-just want to hug you and take you to S-Sea World." That made me laugh so hard that I had to leave the room to get control of myself and get a drink of water.

Well, naturally, Alan and Pete's little act sent the entire cast into hysterics. I'm just glad the director and her assistant were also laughing up a storm, so they didn't have to worry about whose neck to wring.

After rehearsal, I went home. I was really looking forward to opening night.

Before too long, it was opening night. When I got to SHS, I changed into my costume. Since I was playing Ellen Bird, not only did Abby (who's playing Ida Strauss) and I have some scenes together, but I also had to wear a maid's uniform.

I also Kristy, Logan, Jason, and Abby getting ready. Jason was playing First Officer Murdoch. Since he's originally from Scotland, he didn't have to borrow the dialect tape from the library, because most of his accent is natural, even though he came from Scotland when he was four. Oh, and Murdoch's descendants are still upset with James Cameron over how Murdoch was portrayed in the movie. Logan was playing Thomas Andrews, and Kristy was playing Maria Panula, a third-class passenger from Finland. Kristy, Abby, and Logan had borrow the dialect tapes from the library, and were now good at their character accents.

My favorite part of the show was the end of the first act, when the cast is reciting the names of those who perished and those who survived. The recitation starts off loud, and gets softer as the characters speak.

After the show, we greeted the audience. "Stacey, that was so awesome!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"Thanks," I smiled.

"That really was a great show," Dr. Johanssen agreed. I smiled.

As I watched them leave, I thought, _Tonight was such a wonderful night._


	9. Chapter 9: May, Jason

A/N: Ah, prom night. Just so you'll know, I never attended my prom (and no, I'm not bitter about it). I know what you're thinking: "How can someone who never attended their prom possibly know what it was like?" Well, to quote the title character in _Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, _maybe I have more imagination than you think. I also attended a "Mock Crash" at my local fairgrounds a couple of days before the prom my junior year.

_**CHAPTER 9: May—Jason**_

__It was a Thursday, just a couple of days before the prom. The juniors and seniors were excused from all morning classes. We'd be back in time for fifth period, and have our afternoon classes. Oh, I should mention that I didn't go to the prom last year, because I didn't have a date, but this year, Kristy would be going with me.

The reason why we were excused from our morning classes is because we were going to stage/witness a "Mock Crash", which is a sort of demonstration of what can happen if kids drink and drive on prom night, as staged by the Stamford chapter of CarTeens and the SHS chapter of SADD. Kristy once told me about that one summer when the BSC members had taken that first-aid course, and Mary Anne had gotten to apply what she'd learned when Timmy Hsu nearly drowned in the Kormans' pool, and some of them had gotten to participate in something like that at the Firefighter's Fair. Dawn not only volunteered, but also roped Mary Anne into volunteering as well. Mary Anne told me that it was one of the most humiliating experiences of her life, especially when Jamie Newton saw how she looked with the fake blood and a lot of other crap on her.

Anyway, we arrived at the fairgrounds for the demonstration. Of all of us, the only ones from the SHS chapter of SADD that were involved with it were Kristy, Stacey, and I. There would be three members from the Stamford chapter of CarTeens. Stacey would be lying on the hood of one of the cars, pretending to be dead, and Kristy and I would be behind the wheel of both cars.

When we got there, we approached the Driver's Ed teacher, Mr. Simon. "We're here," I told him.

"Good," he said. "You kids know what to do?"

We nodded, then took our places. Before too long, the demonstration got underway.

You want to know the exciting parts of the demonstration? It was having the firefighters, cops, paramedics, flight personnel, and coroner there. The skit ended when the ambulances and helicopter left, then returned. I was in the helicopter, and Kristy and the other two guys were in the ambulances. Stacey and the other girl were supposedly zipped into body bags, and I also hoped they were all right with it. When they returned, the body bags were unzipped, and Stacey and the other girl were helped out of them, then we took a bow. Even though we were reenacting such a gruesome scenario, the other kids really seemed to enjoy it.

I was really looking forward to prom night.

"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen!" Abby said as we headed back to school on the bus. Apparently, seeing the demonstration brought back memories of when her dad was killed.

"Now, Abby, it couldn't have been that bad," Kristy said.

"You know, Abby," Mary Anne said, "if you're really that traumatized, you should see Dr. Reese." I'm told that Dr. Reese is a therapist here in town, and she helped Mary Anne get through Amelia Freeman's death.

"You're right," Abby agreed. "Maybe I will."

I hoped Abby would be able to get past her fears.

Two nights later, I was dressed up in my tux. "Well, I see you're ready for the prom," Mum observed.

"Got the corsage?" Steve asked.

"Aye," I answered. "Well, see you later."

"Have fun," Bebe said.

"I will," I said as I walked out the door.

When I got to Kristy's house, I rang the doorbell, which was answered by Watson. "Hi, Jason," he said. "Come on in."

I stepped into the house. "I'll get Kristy," Elizabeth said, then disappeared up the stairs.

While she was gone, I sat on the sofa to wait. Watson sat in the armchair next to me. I'm glad I know him well enough, and he's not going to lecture me about my driving, my alcohol consumption—which I'd never dream of doing—and being careful around Kristy. It also reminded me of the time I saw the YouTube video of this one segment of _Rescue 911, _where this young couple goes to the prom, dances to "Don't Take The Girl" by Tim McGraw, then the girl gets deathly sick, is rushed to the ER, and it's discovered that she had an allergic reaction to shrimp she'd had at dinner before the prom. The only people I know who are allergic to shrimp are Abby, as well as Steve's youngest brother, Pat, who has Down's syndrome, and along with his twin sister, Paula, was born when Steve was a freshman in high school.

Anyway, in the segment, the girl's mother said that the father likes to talk to the date, tell them all the stuff I mentioned, and finish by saying, "...and if you touch her, I'll kill you." See why I'm glad Watson's not that way?

A few minutes later, Elizabeth and Kristy came downstairs. _Aha! There is a God! _I thought as I stood up. For once, Kristy was wearing a dress. It was a pale yellow dress with short sleeves.

"Here you go," I said, slipping the corsage onto her wrist. "You look nice."

"Thanks," she answered.

"Where did you get the dress?"

"Believe it or not, this is the same dress that I wore when I was a bridesmaid for Mom and Watson's wedding. I've grown a little since then, but Nannie was able to alter it for me."

"Well, shall we do a quick picture before you leave?" Watson asked.

"Sure," Kristy said. The two of us posed next to the fireplace, and Watson took several pictures. Now that I think about it, he must have used the whole roll.

After he was done, I said, "Well, we should be going now."

"All right," Watson said. "Just be sure to be home by 11:00."

"We will," Kristy said. We walked out the door, got in my truck, and headed to school.

When we arrived, we saw that the gym was beautifully decorated: there were streamers hanging from the ceiling and confetti strewn all over the floor. Balloons were tied to the basketball hoops. We also saw the band setting up, doing equipment checks, tuning their instruments, etc.

Soon after that, the band started playing "Come Sail Away" by Styx, which happens to be one of my favorite songs, and I'm happy to say that it was not the _South Park _version, as sung by Eric Cartman. "Want to dance?" I asked Kristy.

"Sure," she answered. We headed to the dance floor, and danced until the song ended.

After that, we got punch and cookies. We were soon joined by Mary Anne and Logan. "Having a good time?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah," Mary Anne answered. "Logan and I came last year, and this year, it's even better."

I smiled as I finished my punch and cookies, then stuffed the napkin into the empty cup, and threw it away.

Later that evening, Mr. D'Amato stepped up to the microphone. "It's time to crown the prom king and queen," he announced. "This year, our prom king is Jason Everett, and our prom queen is Kristin Thomas."

Kristy and I grabbed hands and ran up on stage, where crowns were placed on our heads. We just couldn't believe it. I'm also glad that nobody dumped pig's blood on Kristy. Even though she lacks telekinetic powers, she still would've found some way to give them a piece of her mind.

"There will now be a special dance for the king and queen," Mr. D'Amato announced as Kristy and I walked down the platform.

The song that happened to be playing was "Open Arms" by Journey. As we danced, I couldn't believe how lucky we were to be crowned the king and queen. On the upside, I didn't have a jealous ex-girlfriend to deal with, if you know what I mean.


	10. Chapter 10: June, Kristy

A/N: Okay, two things here. One, graduation can mark the next chapter in a person's life. In this case, it not only marks the end of this story, but also this series, and two, my class carried red roses at graduation to honor our guidance counselor, who had died of a stroke early in the school year.

_**CHAPTER 10: June—Kristy**_

It was the night before graduation, and we were all at my graduation party: Claud, Mary Anne, Stacey, Abby, Logan, Jason, and I. We were in the living room, kneeling around the coffee table, which had our food and drinks on it.

"Wow, I can't believe that tomorrow's graduation," Claud said, taking a bite of a pepperoni roll. "In the famous words of Henry Higgins, thank God it's all over."

"Yeah, I hear you," Abby agreed. "By the way, I don't know where your slippers are, so don't ask."

Naturally, it got a big laugh. "Oh, I got an e-mail from Dawn," Mary Anne said, taking a bite of mung chowder gumbo, as she pulled herself together.

"Really?" I asked. "How's she doing?"

"Oh, she's doing all right," Mary Anne answered. "She said that she and Sunny got accepted at New Mexico State."

"Really? That's great!" Stacey exclaimed, taking a bite of her ham sandwich.

"So, are you guys ready for graduation tomorrow?" I asked Logan and Jason.

"Aye," Jason answered, taking a bite of noodles. "You know, I was just wishing Granny was alive to see this, and I also wish I could tell her about everything that's happened since I moved here."

"I'm sure she'd be really proud of you, Jason," Claud said. I could also tell that she was wishing Mimi could be there. I don't know why, but part of me was wishing Dad was alive to see this. The only question is, would he have showed up?

"Oh, on a more upnote," Claud said, changing the subject. "Have any of you heard of the Chicago Art Institute?"

"Is that where you're going?" Abby asked.

Claud grinned and nodded. "I got the acceptance letter in the mail today. I can't believe it, either, especially since I got such crappy grades in school."

"Way to go, Claud!" Logan exclaimed, patting her shoulder.

"A toast to our future," Stacey said, raising her Diet Coke.

"And what about to absent friends?" Abby asked, in a Frank N. Furter voice, as we laughed.

The next afternoon, we arrived at SHS for the graduation. "Well, this is it," I told my friends as I put on my cap and gown.

"I guess so," Jason agreed.

We lined up, were given our roses to honor Mrs. Evanson—which we were told we could take home afterward—and soon the ceremony got underway. When the first strains of "Pomp and Circumstance" began, Mary Anne began to sniffle softly.

We took our places, and Emily Bernstein, who's not only the valedictorian, but also the senior class president, led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance and the prayer before we took our seats. After Mr. D'Amato gave his welcome speech, the choir stood up to sing.

_"I si-ing the bo-dy e-lec-tri-ic," _Erica Blumberg began._ "I ce-le-brate the me yet to co-ome; I toast to my own re-un-io-on, when I be-come one with the su-u-un..." _

Let me tell you, Erica has a GREAT voice. In fact, she told me that sometime in the fall, she's thinking about auditioning for the Metropolitan Opera.

As we sang with the choir, I looked out of the corner of my eye, and saw Mary Anne, who was sitting about five or six seats away from me, getting misty-eyed. _Keep it together, Mary Anne, _I thought. _I know you'll miss us, but don't you dare fall apart on me._

I guessed that Mary Anne read my mind, because she pulled herself together and squeezed Abby's hand. (She saved the real waterworks for when we got our diplomas.)

After the choir finished sing and took their seats, the speeches got underway. Emily Bernstein gave the valedictorian's address.

"Well, we made it," she announced. "Graduation day. For thirteen years, we've grown up together, and had a lot of fun, not to mention those not-so-perfect moments. I'm not naming names, either! On a more personal note, I'd like to say a few words to a very dear friend of ours who's no longer with us." While she was speaking, a beach ball sailed through the air and landed on the podium. Emily took it and said, "Thanks. I'll be needing this over the summer." There was some laughter, then Emily put the beach ball down beside her, brushed her tassel out of her face, cleared her throat and continued, "Amelia, wherever you are, we know you're watching over us, and I just wanted to tell you that the garden we planted is still there, and it still looks as fresh as it did when it was first planted. Also, we miss you, we love you, and we'll..." Her voice started to break slightly, but she was able to pull herself together "...never forget you."

After Emily sat down, Grace Blume gave the salutatorian's address. Unfortunately, that was when the Silly String and bubbles started flying. A whole wad of Silly String landed in Cokie Mason's lap. She grabbed it and threw it into the aisle. I saw a little bit in her hair, so I leaned over and whispered, "Hey, Cokie, you never looked better."

Finally, it was the moment we'd all been waiting for: getting our diplomas. When Mr. D'Amato said, "Mr. Superintendent, members of the school board, I'd like to announce that the following individuals have completed all the requirements for graduation," I knew it was time. When Mr. D'Amato called me by my full name, which I never liked, I went up, got my diploma, and just for fun, gave him my signature arm-punch. "Give 'em hell, kid," he laughed.

After we got our diplomas, we turned our tassels, then Mr. D'Amato presented our class, and some of us threw our caps into the air. In fact, King, Alan, and Pete imitated machine guns and pretended to shoot at the caps like they were sitting ducks. Miranda Shillaber leaned over to me and whispered, "Can you say the A-Team?"

"Yeah, really," I agreed.

After the ceremony, Mom and Watson approached me. "We're so proud of you, honey," Mom said.

"Thanks, Mom," I said.

"Are you ready for college?" Watson asked.

"Yeah," I answered. Truthfully, I was scared shitless, because I was going to be about a thousand miles from home.

"Well, I'll see you back at the house. I've got to find some of my friends," I said at last.

"All right," Mom said. Then she and Watson walked off.

I was looking for Mary Anne when I saw Claudia talking to Trevor Sandbourne, her seventh-grade boyfriend. I mean, before she had to repeat it. Claud looked up and saw me. "Well, we made it," she said.

"Yup," I agreed. "Well, Claud, I just wanted to say that I wouldn't call what we've been through fun, but I'm glad we went through it together."

"Yeah, me, too," Claud agreed. "Remember when the Baby-sitters Agency tried to put us out of business?"

"Is that why you wore those sandwich boards to school?" Trevor asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Claud said. "I'm glad we neve3r have to go through that again."

"Well, to tell you the truth, I think you girls looked kind of—what's the word?" Trevor wondered.

"Ridiculous?" I suggested.

"No, not really," Trevor said. Both of us could tell that he was trying to find the right word. "Aw, what the hell. At least you guys hung in there."

"Yeah, that's true," Claud agreed.

"Well, I was just looking for Mary Anne," I said. And as luck would have it, guess who happened to come up beside me? "Well, speak of the devil!"

"I was coming to find you," she said.

"Get out of here!" we exclaimed at the same time. (If we were younger, we'd have to hook pinkies and say "jinx".)

After we finished laughing, Claud turned to Trevor and said, "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around."

"Yeah," Trevor agreed. "Good luck in Chicago."

"Thanks. And good luck in Denver," Claud said. And with that, they kissed. And it a very long one, too. In fact, they did it so long that Mary Anne and I looked at our watches to see how much time had passed.

After they finished, Trevor said, very casually, "Well, see you."

"See you," Claud said. And Trevor walked off. The thing that really stuck out in my mind was the fact that they both acted like nothing had happened.

Mary Anne and I took a walk to my car a few minutes later. It was kind of an emotional moment, because this was one of the last times we'd see each other before we went off to college. Furthermore, she'd be in New York, and I'd be in Ohio.

"Don't worry, we'll see each other on our college breaks," I reminded her.

"I know," she said. "I also wanted to tell you that I never would've gotten through any of the the things I've been through in my life if it hadn't been for you."

"Really?" I asked. "Thanks."

"No, I mean it," Mary Anne went on. "If there's one thing you've got a lot of, it's guts."

"You've got them, too," I reminded her. "It must have taken quite a lot to show your dad that you're not a baby anymore. If you hadn't, you'd still be in pigtails, little girls' clothes, not to mention not having a boyfriend of a cat."

"That's true," Mary Anne agreed. "And let's not forget your leadership."

"Well, I hate to brag, but that's one of my strong points," I smiled.

"I'll say," Mary Anne agreed. "Look, I know neither of us are very big on goodbyes, so I'll just go ahead and say it. You know, maybe you're right. Maybe we will see each other again. But just in case we don't, I just want you to know how much you've meant to me. I'll never be able to shake you. Whenever I see someone coaching a softball team or a kid getting into a fight, I'll think of you."

"And if I start crying whenever I watch a movie, I'll think of you," I promised.

"Or a girl in junior high walking a collie."

"Or a preteen in braids in a jumper."

"Deal," Mary Anne said after we finished laughing. "I'm really going to miss you, Kristy."

"I'll miss you, too," I said. "A lot. I can't imagine what growing up in this town would've been like if I'd never found you here."

"I think it probably would've sucked, to tell you the truth," Mary Anne said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Mary Anne, I promise I'll write and e-mail as often as possible."

"Me, too. Well, if anything, I'll have Logan to keep me company at college."

"And I'll have Jason."

That's when the dam finally burst. After we finished hugging, Mary Anne turned toward her silver Camaro and fished her keys out of her pocket. "I'll see you over the holidays, Kristy," she said as she unlocked her car and got in. "But just in case, I left you a note."

_A note? _I thought. What was she talking about? It wasn't until after she drove off that I happened to turn around and that's when I saw a king-sized bedsheet hanging on the side of the building. Written on it, in pink and purple sparkle paint, was the one word that said it all: "GOOD-BYE".

Don't get me wrong, I'd really miss Mary Anne, but part of me couldn't help finding that note, as she'd called it, more than slightly amusing. _Okay, B.J., _I thought as I shook my head. As sad as I was to see my friends go, I had to smile in spite of myself. In a way, it actually made me feel a little better about the whole thing.

As I got in my own car, I knew that one chapter in our lives had ended, and another was about to begin.

**THE END**


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